Aceh: Relief and Reconstruction Work

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What information has been collected about the sums of money promised and paid for relief and reconstruction work in Aceh; and how the expenditure of this money is being audited.

Baroness Amos: There is no one reliable source of information on funds promised to relief and reconstruction work in Aceh, and it is difficult to get a coherent overview. One of the most reliable sources of information is the website of the Aceh Reconstruction Agency www.brr.go.id.
	According to this agency, $2,353,907,000 has been committed by multilateral donors, over $1,081,781,000 by bilateral donors and $893,733,000 by NGO/private donors. There is no reliable, consolidated source of information on funds disbursed. This information is available only within individual programmes.
	Expenditure is audited according to the rules of the implementing agency or organisation concerned.

Anti-social Behaviour Orders

Baroness Falkner of Margravine: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many anti-social behaviour orders have been issued in the last year for which figures are available; and whether those figures are disaggregated on the basis of faith and ethnicity.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2005 the number of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued within England and Wales, as notified to the Home Office, is 3,064. The Scottish Executive advises that 210 ASBOs were issued in Scotland. Within England and Wales and Scotland, information is not collected centrally on the religious beliefs or ethnicity of ASBO recipients. Information on religion/community background and ethnicity are recorded within Northern Ireland. However, the Northern Ireland Office advises that no ASBOs were issued in Northern Ireland in the period.

Anti-social Behaviour Orders

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will establish an independent review of the operation of anti-social behaviour orders, including the adequacy of the safeguards against the abuse of the power to make such orders, and the punishment of those who are in breach of them.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Home Office is conducting an evaluation of ASBOs, the findings of which will be available in spring 2006 and will provide information on the effectiveness of ASBOs in tackling anti-social behaviour within our neighbourhoods and communities. In addition, the Home Affairs Select Committee, in its report on anti-social behaviour published earlier this year, recommended that research was necessary to establish the reasons for the inappropriate issuing of ASBOs or the issuing of ASBOs with inappropriate conditions. We are currently considering the best way to meet this recommendation

Armed Forces: Discipline

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why, when a case has been dismissed by a commanding officer, it is not considered to have been dealt with by summary process.

Lord Drayson: The ability of a commanding officer to dismiss a charge is separate from the power to deal summarily with the charge. Dismissal of a charge will occur without any hearing taking place, and the effect of a dismissal is not an acquittal. It does, however, prevent any further action against the person charged within the military system. But, as there has been no hearing of the evidence and no acquittal, it does not prevent the exercise of a civilian jurisdiction, if that applies to the offence in question.

Avian Flu

The Duke of Montrose: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect to publish the findings of the inquiry into the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza at a wild bird quarantine centre in Essex.

Lord Bach: On 15 November Defra published the epidemiology report for the case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 found in a quarantine facility in Essex.

Creatine

Earl Howe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How long the Food Standards Agency was given to respond to the European Commission's recent proposal to amend the annexes of Directive 2001/15/EC in relation to creatine; whether the Commission's consultation processes were in accordance with best practice and involved all key industry stakeholders; when they expect the relevant council standing committee to consider the proposal in question; and what their objectives are for this proposal.

Lord Warner: The European Commission informed the United Kingdom and all other EC member states in late October that an amendment to the directive would be discussed and possibly voted upon at the beginning of December. As a result of the Food Standards Agency consulting stakeholders about the proposal, an unintended issue over the status of creatine was brought to its attention. The agency consequently contacted the Commission and a vote on this aspect has been postponed. The agency has pointed out to the Commission that its own consultation procedures did not appear to have reached the sector concerned in this case and that these should therefore be reviewed.
	Interested parties in this country will be informed and consulted on any revised proposal concerning creatine.

Cross Channel Ferry Services

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will hold early discussions with the French authorities and with DP World following the agreed cash bid for P&O, in order to ensure maintenance of the cross channel ferry services.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The cross channel ferry routes are a commercially competitive market showing no signs of market failure. No case for the suggested discussions arises.

Environmental Pollution

The Countess of Mar: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the oral evidence of Sir Liam Donaldson and Professor Robert Maynard to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution on 3 February, what plans the Department of Health has to apply sophisticated technology, such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, to the investigation and clinical assessment of chronic disease, some of which may be related to environmental pollutants.

Lord Warner: The Department of Health will be contributing to the government response to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's report on Crop Spraying and the Health of Residents and Bystanders, which is being co-ordinated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The department will consider as part of that response whether it will have plans to apply these technologies to the investigation of disease which may be related to environmental pollutants.

Essex: Road Improvement Schemes

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the decision to abandon the proposed upgrading of the M11 between Stansted and the A11 junction at Great Chesterford represents a change of government policy against the siting of a second runway at Stansted airport.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The decision on the proposed upgrading of the M11 between junction 8 and 9 does not affect the Government's support for a second runway at Stansted as set out in The Future of Air Transport White Paper published in December 2003.
	Analysis recently completed by the Highways Agency suggests that widening of the M11 between these junctions will not be justified within the next 10 to 15 years. This analysis took into account housing growth assumptions within the London-Stansted-Cambridge-Peterborough growth area and forecast growth of air passenger traffic at Stansted assuming the construction of a second runway.
	Even under these growth assumptions the existing route between junction 8 and 9 is expected to be capable of accommodating projected highway traffic growth until 2021.

Essex: Road Improvement Schemes

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which road improvement schemes located within Essex, and previously identified by the Department for Transport or any other government department or agency, have now been cancelled or postponed.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Department for Transport informed the East of England Regional Assembly in November 2005, that in the light of analysis undertaken by the Highways Agency, widening of the M11 between junctions 8 to 9 would not be justified within the next 10 to 15 years. We have, however, asked the Highways Agency to continue to monitor traffic conditions on the M11 and to investigate further smaller scale improvements.
	I am not aware of any other schemes located within Essex which have been cancelled or postponed.

Family Fund

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have received in support of easing current restrictions to allow the Family Fund to give financial help to families caring for severely disabled or seriously ill children over the age of 16; and whether they will take any action.

Lord Adonis: The Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People, published January 2005, contains a recommendation for DfES to review with the Family Fund how its remit could be extended to include families with 16 and 17 year-olds. This recommendation is under consideration with all the other recommendations in the report.

Fishing Licences

Lord Mason of Barnsley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many prosecutions there have been in each of the past five years for fishing without a licence.

Lord Bach: The table below sets out the number of prosecutions that have been successfully undertaken for fishing without a valid licence in the past five years in the United Kingdom. The provisional figure for the number of prosecutions in 2005 to date is also included.
	
		
			 Year Number 
			 2000 2 
			 2001 2 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 0 
			 2004 3 
			 2005* 2 
		
	
	* From 1 January to 23 November 2005.

Government Communications

Lord Shutt of Greetland: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What guidelines exist relating to the alteration of a press release once issued by a department; and under what circumstances it is acceptable to make changes.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Guidance on Government Communications, which includes press notices, covers the propriety of content, style and distribution. They can be found on www.comms.gov.uk.

Gross Domestic Product

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they expect that the rate of growth of gross domestic product and of retail sales in 2006 will be higher than the forecasts made in the summer.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Treasury's latest forecast for GDP growth in 2006 was published in the 2005 Pre-Budget Report (Cm 6701) on 5 December. The Treasury does not produce forecasts for the growth of retail sales. However, it does take into account developments in the retail sector when formulating its forecast for consumer spending (of which, retail sales are about one-third).

Judicial Appointments

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 24 November (WA 234) stating that the judiciary of England and England and Wales is of the highest possible standard and quality, whether any change in the method of selection of the judiciary will result in a lowering of that standard.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: No. Judges are, and will continue to be, selected solely on merit. The Judicial Appointments Commission, which will be responsible for selecting candidates for judicial appointment from April 2006, will have a statutory duty to select on merit alone.

Landfill Tax

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much each waste disposal authority has paid in landfill tax since its introduction.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Landfill Tax receipts for waste disposal can be found in Table 2 of the HM Revenue and Customs Landfill Tax Bulletin, which can be found on a HM Revenue and Customs website address at www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=landfill.
	Information on landfill tax revenue by each waste authority is not available.

Northern Ireland: Post-primary Education

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will implement policies on post-primary education in Northern Ireland in accordance with the view of the majority of those responding to their consultation process.

Lord Rooker: I would refer the Lord Laird to the reply I gave on 2 November 2005 (Official Report, col. WA 32, Volume 675).

Northern Ireland: Tyrone County Hospital

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will reconsider the changes to the services at Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh for the next five years.

Lord Rooker: It is not envisaged that the recently announced changes to public administration in Northern Ireland will have any impact on decisions about services at Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh.
	On 19 September the Health Minister, Shaun Woodward, placed in the public domain three reports that highlighted the urgent need for changes to hospital services in the Sperrin Lakeland area. On 11 October the Minister issued for consultation his proposals to address the safety and sustainability issues identified in the reports.
	The consultation period finished on 25 November and the Minister's decision on the way forward is expected shortly. It would not be acceptable to compromise patient safety by delaying the necessary changes.

Objective 1 Funding: Seaside Resorts

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which seaside resorts qualify for Objective 1 funding.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not keep records of which seaside resorts qualify for Objective 1 funding.
	Objective 1 funding is awarded locally to disadvantaged regions or areas where gross domestic product per head is less than 75 per cent of the European Union average.
	Areas of the UK that are currently receiving Objective 1 funding are Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, West Wales and the Valleys and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
	The administration of the fund is dealt with by the Government office for the South West, Yorkshire and Humberside and the North West, plus the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Executive. It is used on a wide range of areas such as training unemployed people, creating jobs and improving the skills of the workforce, infrastructure growth, the rural economy and community development.

Pensions

Lord Skelmersdale: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many contributors to a state pension do not reach the age of 65.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The exact information requested is not available. Individuals start accruing eligibility towards a state pension at 16. The Office for National Statistics reports that the number of deaths registered in the United Kingdom at ages 16 to 64 during 2004 was 95,988, out of a total of 38.6 million individuals in that age bracket.

Powers of Entry

Lord Selsdon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In what circumstances officials of the Department for International Development and of public bodies answerable to the Secretary of State for International Development can search and enter the homes or business premises of United Kingdom citizens; and, in each case, what is the statutory authority for that power.

Baroness Amos: I refer the noble Lord to the response given by the Home Office on 23 November (Official Report, col. WA 219, Volume 675).

Reproductive Health

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What actions they are taking to deliver the target of universal access to reproductive health by 2015, as called for in the millennium review summit.

Baroness Amos: At the world summit in September, UN member states committed themselves to achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015, as set out in the programme for action agreed at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994. It is DfID's view that we cannot achieve the millenium development goals (MDGs) and improve poor people's lives without also pursuing the key ICPD goal of reproductive health. DfID is working to ensure that reproductive health is better reflected in the MDG framework of targets and monitoring indicators.
	The UK Government believe that sexual and reproductive health is a fundamental human right and therefore UK assistance aims to support countries to provide choice and improve people's access to good quality information and services. We believe that men and women should be able to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.
	The UN estimates that over 130 million women globally have an unmet need for contraception but do not have adequate access to good quality reproductive health and family planning services. Many millions lack access to barrier methods such as condoms which also offer protection from HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. DfID remains firmly committed to achieving the target of universal access to reproductive health by 2015, and indeed the UK worked hard to ensure that this target was clearly reflected in the September summit outcome.
	DfID provides support to the work of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF), as well as to other organisations in the population and sexual and reproductive health field promoting choice. Both the UNFPA and the IPFF work to promote reproductive health and family planning, including HIV prevention services, and we currently provide £80 million over four years to the UNFPA and £19.5 million to the IPFF for 2004–06. At country level, DfID is funding projects such as Promoting Sexual and Reproductive Health for HIV/AIDS Reduction in Nigeria (£52.8 million), promoting the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Poor People in Malawi (£23.3 million) and provision of reproductive health contraceptive supplies as part of a wider Reproductive Health Programme in Nepal (£1 million).
	DfID also provides significant support for reproductive health commodities including condoms, through its country programmes focusing on HIV prevention, and for wider reproductive health services through our support for health system strengthening. For the past 10 years, DfID has been the fourth largest provider of condoms, supporting the distribution of about 150 million condoms annually in countries such as Bolivia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa. We are currently looking at a sustainable long-term response to reproductive health commodity shortages with other donors, in order to provide a more predictable basis for the funding and availability of these essential supplies.
	DfID also supports an extensive portfolio of research and research partnerships encompassing the development of new contraception, microbicides and HIV vaccines, policy and operations research into the links between sexual and reproductive health and HIV programmes, population issues, maternal and neonatal health issues, preventing mother to child transmission of HIV and the promotion of reproductive rights.

Reproductive Health

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What funding is being provided to the human reproduction programme in the World Health Organisation.

Baroness Amos: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has allocated approximately £270,000 in 2005 to the human reproduction programme from the UK's assessed and undesignated voluntary funding.
	DfID hopes to finalise an additional contribution specifically for the human reproduction programme in this financial year.

Rural Areas: Health Needs

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether any National Health Service resources have been allocated in rural areas which are at variance with national formulae governing rurality and low density.

Lord Warner: Funding is allocated to primary care trusts on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. A weighted capitation formula is used to determine each PCT's target share of available resources. The weighted capitation formula is continuously overseen by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. This is an independent body, which has National Health Service management, general practitioner and academic members. In calculating health need in rural areas the formula takes account of the effects of access, transport and poverty. This formula was used to determine the 2006–08 revenue allocations.
	Other in-year allocations are made from the Department of Health's central budget programme to fund specific services and initiatives.

Smoking in Public Places

Lord Faulkner of Worcester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many responses were received from Smokefree Liverpool in the recent consultation on the smoke-free provisions of the Health Bill; how many of these favoured comprehensive legislation with no exemptions for private members' clubs or public houses which do not serve food; and how many supported their proposals for such exemptions, as set out in the Choosing Health White Paper; and
	Why no reference is made to the representations made by Smokefree Liverpool in its report on the recent consultation on the smoke-free provisions of the Health Bill; and
	Whether they have included the responses received from Smokefree Liverpool in the total of over 57,000 responses to the recent consultation on the smoke-free provisions of the Health Bill.

Lord Warner: Following publication of the analysis of responses to the public consultation on the smoke-free elements of the Health Bill on 24 November, the Department of Health was approached by Smokefree Liverpool which was concerned that no specific mention of its campaign had been made in the report.
	Immediately on receiving this message, the department gave a commitment that it would check all the responses received and check that responses from Smokefree Liverpool had been fully taken into account.
	As soon as that check is complete, I will write to the noble Lord with a full Answer to his Questions, and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Waste Cooking Oil

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How the waste cooking oil used by commercial organisations that is not blended into other fuel should be disposed of.

Lord Bach: The Animal By-Products Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 allows waste cooking oil to be recovered in biodiesel, biogas, composting and rendering plants. It can also be burned in suitably approved power stations to generate electricity and may also go for use by the oleochemical industry. The legislation also allows cooking oil to be used in pet food. Used cooking oils from manufacturing premises, and fresh or unused cooking oil, can continue to be used in animal feed.
	There is a duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to dispose of waste responsibly. Waste cooking oil must not be poured down drains or sewers as this leads to blockages and odour or vermin problems and may also pollute watercourses leading to problems for wildlife. Nor should waste cooking oil be disposed of with catering or kitchen waste.

Waterways Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What properties are owned by Waterways Ireland which are (a) occupied, and (b) unoccupied; and what is the organisation's policy for each of these properties.

Lord Rooker: Waterways Ireland inherited an extensive and diverse property portfolio and I understand that the body is unable, at this time, to provide all the information sought by the noble Lord as the exercise would place a major burden on its resources.
	However, I do understand that, in relation to lock houses, some 32 of these have been investigated to date and that investigation has shown that 26 of the 32 are occupied. I am assured that should the noble Lord wish to make a query to Waterways Ireland on a specific property the body will provide the appropriate information.

Winter Fuel Payments

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, given the Minister for Energy's recent comments on preventing unnecessary deaths among vulnerable people in cold weather at the launch of the Home Heat Helpline, they will review the current arrangements which limit winter fuel payments to severely disabled people only if they are aged 60 or above.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: There are no plans to extend the winter fuel payment scheme to disabled people under age 60. Help is already available through disability benefits and the disability premium in income-related benefits in recognition of the extra costs, including heating, which disabled people may have.